Friday, 18 February 2005
Do We Have the Right Limitative Theorems?
Allen Hazen, Unersity Melbourne, Philosophy) 

12:05 pm, 817R Cathedral of Learning

Abstract: The limitative theorems of Godel, Skolem, et al. are not just the jewels of 20th c. mathematical logic: they also seem to have a kind of absoluteness of great epistemological interest.  The conceptual situation is, however, a bit subtle: if the theorems are precisely stated, their reach is unclear, and loose intuitive statements may admit counterexamples. We discuss an apparent counterexample to Godel and Skolem, and tentatively conclude that it is a joke, and that the limitations suggested by the theorems are (to use a word one prefers to avoid in discussing logic and foundations) real.